Rumpelstiltskin
"Rumpelstiltskin" is Episode 7 in Season 5. It originally aired on July 28, 1987. Synopsis This episode may look like a continuation of the previous one, but it's a different topic. It begins with LeVar visiting the Renaissance Pleasure Fair in Agoura Hills, California to learn about how people lived hundreds of years before in Europe. "Good moro" is the way people from the renaissance said hello. Things at the fair look like a fairy tale come to life with castles, kings, and knights in shining armor. People sing in chorus like they did back then while LeVar shows the viewers all the things that happen at the fair. He too is dressed like a knight, but it felt like he was rattling around in a tin can at first. Hundreds of years ago, you had to use a spinning wheel if you wanted new clothes. LeVar shows the viewers what one looks like and how it works. Fiber goes into it and comes out as yarn. Norah, one of the mistresses at the fair, shows LeVar her sheep where she gets her wool. Cutting it from off the sheep is just like giving someone a haircut. It is knotted, so the seamstress uses a special comb to get the knots out of it. When it is smoothed out and cleaned, it goes through a part of the wheel called the rolag. It twists the fiber hairs into one strand of thread. Doing it on the wheel is faster than doing it by hand, yet it's not as easy. After the thread is spun, it is dyed. People get their colors for the dyes from plants and roots. After the yarn is dyed, it is weaved on a loom. Norah shows LeVar a cloak she wove on the loom. Normally, it would take two days to weave a piece of clothing. The entire process of making clothing from shearing to weaving would take two weeks. LeVar decides to look around the fair and see what else he can find. He sees a man selling some rocks, and also people doing amazing tricks. A person dressed as a sultan asks for a volunteer for a trick they are doing. People choose LeVar. All he has to do is stand still and not move because the knights are going to pass six clubs around his body while they juggle. He isn't sure about it. The knights ask him to bow, but he doesn't want to be clubbed. LeVar is amazed to see an actual renaissance feast. He decides to take a lunch break at it. There is so much more activity to see at the fair. He sees someone playing a game that takes great skill. The idea is to be dunked in a bucket of water. In the end, LeVar dunks the player and gets him all wet. LeVar and a group of people honor a queen who salutes him for how good his reading is. She thanks him for visiting the fair today. "God bless the queen!" he declares, and everybody cheers. He bows to the viewers and thanks them for coming to see the fair. It has given him such great pleasure. It's no wonder these fairs are called pleasure fairs. Review Books *A Medieval Feast *The Story of a Castle *The Sleeping Beauty Category:Season 5 Category:Episodes